The trio sat in a cab as Sherlock typed furiously on his phone. He turned it to show Melody a page from an old newspaper that read 'Tragic Carl died "doing what he loved"'. Under it was a photo of a cheerful-looking twelve year old boy.
"1989. Young kid, champion swimmer, came up from Brighton for a school sports tournament, drowned in the pool. Tragic accident. You won't remember it. Why should you?" Sherlock shrugged.
"But you remember?" John asked, looking at the picture, then at the shoes which sat in a bag on his lap.
"Yes."
"There was something fishy about it?"
"Nobody thought so. Nobody except me. I was only a child myself. I read about it in the paper."
"Started young, didn't you?"
"Sherlock's always been a genius. It just took a while for others to finally realize it, too." Melody said, matter-of-factly.
Sherlock looked at her with a warm smile before continuing. "The boy Carl Powers had some sort of fit in the water. By the time they got him out, it was too late.But there was something wrong. Something I couldn't get out of my head."
"What?" John asked.
"His shoes.They weren't there. I made a bit of a fuss. Tried to get the police interested. But no-one thought it was important. He'd left all the rest of his clothes in his locker, you see. But there was no sign of his shoes."
"Until now." Melody realized.
The cab pulled up to the flat and they shuffled out quickly, Melody handing the cabbie some cash.
They all traipsed up the stairs and John handed Sherlock the bag before going to the kitchen. He opened the fridge to find the head once again, but there was also enough food for a few days. It seemed to be mostly things that Melody was fond of, but there were a few generic items as well.
"Melody, did your mum go to the shops?" John asked.
Melody picked a note off of the cabinet and smirked. "No. Croft had some shopping delivered here. It's most likely things I like, so you'll have to make do until we get a chance to go back out."
"There should be no problem with that. Can I interest you in some food?"
"Maybe just some crisps and some tea, if you don't mind."
"Coming right up."
He made a pot of tea and placed a bowl of crisps in front of Mel as she helped Sherlock set up his microscope and a few surgical implements. As Melody worked on researching the Carl Powers case, Sherlock closed the partition to give them a cocoon of privacy.
She held out crisps for him, which he ate without thinking while cutting up the trainers with a scalpel.
An hour later, Melody was pouring over police documents. While Sherlock looked carefully through his microscope.
John opened the sliding doors and popped his head through the opening. "Can I help?I want to help. There's only five hours left."
His mobile pinged, and he curiously glanced at it. "Mycroft. He's texting me now. How does he know my - ?"
"Must be a root canal." Sherlock mused.
"He did say "national importance"."
"How quaint."
"What is?"
"You are. "Queen and Country"."
"You can't just ignore it!"
"I'm not ignoring it. I'm putting my best man onto it right now."
"Ok. Good." John said. After a beat of silence, he followed up with, "Who's that?"
Melody looked up and smirked at him. "Darling, I would think you would be able to sus that out yourself by now."
He looked at her with a small frown. "Right."
"Give Mycroft my thanks for the food, please and thank you." She said with a smile.
John sighed, but nod before leaving the flat.
"I would say we have a solid hour and a half before he's back. Mycroft wants this Partington case done quickly and efficiently." Melody said, scrolling through the page she was on.
"An hour and a half, eh?" Sherlock said, wagging his brows and winking at her.
She looked at him in mild shock. "Sherlock Holmes, are you flirting with me?"
His laughter filled the room. "I am."
Melody raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Don't start something you can't finish, Mr. Holmes."
"Wouldn't dream of it, Miss Hudson." He said with a smirk that sent her heart racing.
She stood up and kissed his cheek, then went to walk to the stove. Before she could get to far, he pulled her back to stand between his legs where he sat on the stool. He pulled her close and reached up to kiss her fiercely. She kissed back with equal fervor, and when they parted, she was out of breath.
"The case, Sherlock. Finish the case." She said with a shaky voice and a deep breath.
He watched as she walked over and put on a fresh pot of tea.
Almost two hours later, Sherlock and Melody sat bent over a microscope and research, three cups of cold tea sat between them.
"Don't know why I bother." Mrs. Hudson said, startling Melody out of her research induced trance.
Sherlock didn't look up from the microscope as the woman came into the room with a fresh cup for each of them on a tray. "I'm not your housekeeper. And Melody, you should take better care of yourself, dear."
Sherlock suddenly sat back, eyes glittering with triumph. "Poison."
Mrs. Hudson softened a bit. "I know. It's the caffeine. How about Camomile?"
"Clever. Clever."
"What are you on about?"
John entered the flat, causing Sherlock to look up, thrilled with his new revelation.
"Clostridium botulinim. One of the deadliest poisons on earth!" The detective announced.
Mrs. Hudson simply huffed good naturedly and shook her head at the man before scuffling off.
"What? Carl Powers was murdered?" John asked in confusion.
Sherlock dashed to Melody's side and motioned to the laptop. "My website, if you please, dear." He said before turning to John. "Remember the shoe-laces? The boy suffered from eczema. It would be the easiest thing in the world to introduce the poison into his medication. A few hours later he came up to London for the swimming competition, the poison took effect, paralysed the muscles and he drowned."
"How come the autopsy didn't - ?" John trailed off.
"It's virtually undetectable. And no-one would've been looking for it." Melody realized, moving to the side so Sherlock could control the screen.
"Right! But there were tiny traces still inside the trainers. From where he'd rubbed the cream into his feet. That's why they had to go!" Sherlock explained.
"So how do we let the bomber know?" John asked.
"We get his attention." Sherlock said as he rapidly typed out his message. Melody leaned in to read a post that stated: "FOUND. Pair of trainers belonging to Carl Powers (1978- 1989). Botulinim toxin still present. Apply 221b Baker St."
"Stop the clock." Sherlock stated.
"The killer's kept the shoes? All these years?" John said in awe.
"Yes. Meaning -"
"He's our bomber."
The pink iPhone chimed, and the three exchanged glances. Sherlock rapidly put the phone on speaker.
"Well...done you. Come...and get me." The crying woman said. Suddenly her voice became desperate, like she was no longer being fed lines. "Help me! For God's sake, please help me!"
"Where are you? Tell us where you are!!" Sherlock said in a rush.
She gave them a location, and within seconds, John was on the phone with Lestrade, giving him the information.
Melody waited with bated breath until she heard sirens on the other end of the mystery woman's call. She looked at Sherlock and John, both men looking as though they had just had a tremendous weight lifted from their shoulders.
She pulled John into a tight hug and felt him relax as he pulled her in tightly. No words were needed as the two simply appreciated the comforting gesture. It was like hugging your best mate and your sibling all at once. Once they parted, they both smiled warmly at eachother.
Melody then turned to Sherlock, who had been silently looking at the pink phone in his hand. She placed a gentle hand on his cheek and pulled him to look at her. "Hey. You did it. You solved the case. I thing young Sherlock would be proud to look into the future and see how far he's come." She said with a smile. "And if you can't be proud of yourself, then John and I will be proud for you."
He placed his hand on top of hers and thurned his face to give her palm a grateful kiss. "Thank you. Both of you. You've both been tremendously helpful." He said.
John gave him a nod and smiled. "I'll give you two a few moments." He said, heading out of the main area and up the stairs.
Sherlock looled at Melody and placed his free hand on her waist as her free hand splayed across his chest. "You know, I've always thought that affection equaled weakness. But having experienced it, I've never felt more strong and sure in my life. I'm happy"
"You deserve to be happy. I'm glad that you've found happiness being with me. You're so amazing, Sherlock, and I hope that I can show you every day just how true that is." Melody said, her eyes taking in every detail of his face.
"And I, you." He said, pressing his forehead to hers, both of their eyes closed as they took in a momentof peace.
After a minute or so, they parted and she looked up at him. "Come on, we better get to Lestrade's office before he sends a car after us." She said, tugging him along. "John, darling! Time to go to Scotland Yard!" She called.
The man's footsteps came echoing down the stairs as the couple put their coats and scarves on. John came into view tugging his own jacket on. "Ready when you are." He said.
Mel smiled and walked down the stairs. "Come along, boys. Let's go solve a mystery or two."
A/N/ Sorry this was such a short chapter. I'm really glad you are all enjoying this, and I hope I'm doing a good job! I know Sherlock seems OOC, but it's for a reason! Melody isn't in the show, and she's one of the biggest factors in that. Not to mention, it's Fanfiction. Lol. Let me know what you think in the comments!